Thursday, December 31, 2009

Green Fuels Ltd makes it possible to produce your own biodiesel ... with one of their FuelPod products ...

They are the " ... world
leading biodiesel equipment supplier, ... design and
manufacture ... affordable biodiesel processing equipment ... for small-scale, domestic usage - right up to commercial production. ... currently more than 6,500 Green Fuels and Green Fuels America
processors world wide. Between them they produce more than 350 million
litres of biodiesel every year"

"If you want ... ‘green’
biodiesel, but don’t want to produce it yourself, you can buy high
quality fuel from one of our Green Fuels approved dealers nationwide ...you will always save money compared with standard garage fuels ... "

"Biodiesel
is a clean-burning biofuel produced from domestic renewable resources
such as used cooking oil, oil seed crops such as rapeseed, or unused
vegetable oil. It is biodegradeable, non-toxic and carbon neutral ... has 80% lower emissions than mineral diesel, it dramatically
reduces pollution. It is inexpensive and easy to produce at home and is
safe to use in any diesel vehicle without any modifications to your
engine."

" ... two models in the Fuelpod range by
Green Fuels - the safest way to produce high quality biodiesel at home.
Both are supplied as complete systems and have minimal operating costs,
with exceptionally low electricity consumption."

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

" ... Prince Charles, the U.K.'s version of Al Gore, has taken another step in a green
direction: his 1970 Aston Martin DB6 has been converted to run entirely
on bioethanol ... fuel he uses is made from a
white wine produced near the prince's Highgrove Estate, itself a
showcase for organic farming ..."

" ... goal of reducing emissions from his planes,
trains, and automobiles 25% by 2018 ...European Union limits annual wine production, so any leftovers
from England's current vintage can be converted to bioethanol by Green
Fuels Ltd.... company has previously provided bioethanol to power the
royal train. The prince's other vehicles, which include a smattering of
Jaguars, a Range Rover, and an Audi, have been converted to run on
bioethanol made from cooking oil...."

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

It is surprising how much used oil is generated each year - it is more surprising how much is improperly disposed of ... and how dangerous improperly disposed oil is to our water supply.

While looking at my local Honda dealership's website I can across their green activities. Conicelli Honda notes on their website that they annually " ... recycle appx. 53,000 gallons of motor oil via Lorco Petroleum Services ... converting it into fuel oil ..."

"According to the National Oil Recyclers Association,
1.3 billion gallons of used oil is generated each year; Approximately
800 million gallons are recycled ... and approximately 500 million gallons are improperly discarded.
One gallon of improperly disposed oil has the potential to contaminate
1 million gallons of fresh water."

"Lorco Petroleum Services
takes this problem seriously. We recycle millions of gallons of used
oil each year, converting it into fuel oil that not only meets but
exceeds USEPA standards."

" ... collect your used motor oil, hydraulic oil, transmission fluid,
fuel oil or even unused new oil ... no minimum or maximum
quantity requirements ... transported back to our Federal Terminal for processing ... If
... hazardous, we can transport it to the proper
facility for disposal. "

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Danish Island of Samsø: First "Town" to be Completely Energy Self-Sufficient ??

It is one thing to be energy independent; it carries a little more weight if you are both energy independent and industrialized.

" ... Danish island of Samsø ... 30 miles long and 15 miles wide ... began
its push toward sustainability in 1997. In just over a decade ... erected 21 electricity-producing wind turbines and a heating system
fueled by wood chip- and straw-burning furnaces accompanied by several
small solar panels."

"Eleven ... turbines are onshore and ten are offshore; all
generate one megawatt each ... onshore turbines produce more
electricity than the island consumes — enough to offset 690,000 gallons
of oil — ... offshore turbines produce enough power to handle the
island’s transportation energy budget ...invests excess power in new energy projects."

" ... inadvertently
transformed the island’s workforce into green collar workers. Plumbers
and carpenters regularly perform energy-efficient home conversions, and
their expertise has allowed them to work on green projects elsewhere,
including mainland Europe."

Saturday, December 26, 2009

"... hoped to find some sort of constructive use for the
material from algae blooms ... said researcher Maria Strømme, a nanotechnologist at Uppsala University in Sweden ... creates new possibilities for large-scale production of
environmentally friendly, cost-effective, lightweight energy storage
systems...."

" ... batteries are said to hold 50 to 200 percent more charge than
similar conducting polymer batteries ... batteries recharge faster than conventional
rechargeable batteries ... can recharge in eight minutes and as
quickly as 11 seconds.

" ...researchers plan to test the batteries for charge loss over time as well as how well they can scale into larger formats."

Thursday, December 24, 2009

PNC is well known for their green projects ... one of their ads says they have more green buildings than any other bank ...

In addition to having green buildings - PNC now has a GREEN WALL. " ... the
largest green wall in North America ... 2,380 sq. ft., soil-based wall - similar in size to a doubles tennis
court - features a variety of regional plants grown into living art on
the south-facing wall of One PNC Plaza ... in downtown Pittsburgh."

" ... estimated that each of the 602 panels, with 24 plants in each 2x2
sq. ft. space, will offset the carbon footprint of one person. ... similar to a green roof, will help to cool the
30-story building ... wall is a fitting reminder that PNC is the world leader in green
building ...".

" ... has more newly constructed buildings certified by the United States
Green Building Council under its LEED® program than any other company
in the world ... includes 64 trademark Green Branch®
locations and two office buildings. About 20 environmentally friendly
branches and two other major buildings are under construction or
awaiting LEED certification."

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Hallmark, the maker of greeting cards and other products, has been green since before it was the "in thing".

" ... began recycling paper in the 1940s, have used recycled paper in
products and packaging since the 1970s ... established a
corporate-wide environmental conservation program in the 1990s...."

Other efforts include ... " ... sponsors e-waste events to collect and responsibly dispose of employees' discarded electronics ... actively participate in the Environmental Protection Agency's WasteWi$e and Energy Star Building programs ...Since the early 1990s we have reduced solid waste by 70 percent and hazardous waste by 90 percent ... waste-to-energy program at our distribution center in Enfield,
Conn., has resulted in an ongoing zero percent waste program since
1998. Materials not recycled are used as electrical generator fuel."

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

I first heard of the EPA's WasteWise program from Hallmark's website where it was used to reinforce their environmental efforts. Curious I looked for more info on the EPA website.

" ... WasteWise Endorser Program engages state and local government agencies, trade associations,
nonprofit organizations, and businesses to help educate their members
and constituents about the benefits of reducing solid waste ... WasteWise Challenge helps members expand existing waste
reduction programs and adopt new, proven strategies. Each challenge
focuses on a specific material or product type."

"By
pledging to the challenge, WasteWise members can receive assistance to
implement waste reduction activities targeting a specific material or
product type and potentially earn recognition as an environmental
leader. "

Monday, December 21, 2009

Looking for the perfect gift for that green guy or green gal on your shopping list?

Check out The Ultimate Green Store ... I found a link to the Ultimate Green Store from the Green Expo. The Ultimate Green Store is a " ... one-stop green shopping destination for the home, office and everyone in the family! ... offers thousands of organic, recycled, solar and other eco-friendly products such as organic bedding and towels,organic baby products, eco-friendly-school-supplies,solar chargers and hundreds of other products in high demand categories for the eco-conscious shopper ..."

" ... you will find beautiful,
cool, hip, colorful, fun, effective, beautifully smelling, quality
products that stand on their own. And, if you want to learn more, we
have provided you with information about each manufacturer and their
lines so that you can better understand the benefits to you and our
planet of all the different products we offer."

Monday, December 14, 2009

Looking for a few GREEN gift ideas? Check out a clock that runs on water and a measuring cup that has a digital readout to give accurate volume and weight measurements
" ... AllThingsD technology columnist Kara Swisher shows ZDNet some "green" tech gift ideas for the holiday season, including a clock powered by water and a mini-vacuum cleaner that runs without emitting CO2 fumes ..." I am not sure I understand how the water clock works ... but it looks neat!

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Hybrid cars are able to recover energy from braking by turning the brakes into a generating device ... Levant Power is using the energy in road bumbs to turn shock absorbers into a similar energy recovery device.

"Hybrid vehicles with GenShock installed can increase their fuel economy
by up to 10 percent ... capturing
suspension energy and using it to charge the vehicle's battery, it
reduces the overall carbon footprint of the car."

"GenShock, is currently being produced for the defense
industry. We will be offering our first public products as trucking aftermarket sales, later becoming a standard
feature on select vehicle lines."

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

" ... Matsushita ... will claim first
place in the race to put commercial home fuel cells on the market ... "

" ... can optimally provide 70 percent of the energy needs
for a 1,280 square foot house with four people ... can reduce energy consumption by 22 percent and
CO2 emissions by 12 percent as compared to all other power sources ... ".

" ... in this
case, the cogeneration home fuel cell hooks up to the city’s natural
gas lines, extracting hydrogen from the gas in a fuel-processing
device ... hydrogen is combined with oxygen through a series
of polyelectrolyte membranes, a process that creates electricity, heat,
and water ... home fuel cell produces between 500 watts and a 1
kilowatt of electricity and captures the heat to warm a tank of water,
used for showers, dishes etc."

" ... fuel cells require a
great deal of energy; for example, this unit contains more than 2,000
components. Whether the production of the units negates the energy and
CO2 savings gained by customers is unclear."

Monday, December 7, 2009

" ... ZigBee Alliance is an association of companies working together
to enable reliable, cost-effective, low-power, wirelessly networked,
monitoring and control products based on an open global standard."

"... goal ... is to provide the consumer with
ultimate flexibility, mobility, and ease of use by building wireless
intelligence and capabilities into everyday devices ... "

"ZigBee Smart Energy Certified Products ... represent solutions across the entire efficiency
ecosystem – energy services portals, meters, displays, thermostats and
load controllers. Each product may wear the ZigBee Certified logo and
the green ZigBee Smart Energy icon so that they may be easily
identified in the marketplace."

Sunday, December 6, 2009

If you can see it and manage it you can control it. Much like the speedometer on your car companies; are developing devices to help see home energy usage in real time.

" ... EnergyHub's dashboard which it is testing out with three
utilities in the U.S. .... gives people a way to quickly
see how much electricity they are using at a given time. ... giving
people regular information on their usage, they can cut electricity use between five and 15 percent ...".

"EnergyHub's system is being used in conjunction with smart meters in
its initial trials but energy information can also be gathered by
creating a wireless home-area network. The display has a Zigbee
wireless chip that can communicate with a networked thermostat and
smart plugs [left on photo] ... allows people to program
appliances and turn down energy use during utility-run demand-response
programs. .. is selling through utilities originally but expects
the display and thermostat to cost about $250 and Zigbee-enabled plugs
about $35."

Saturday, December 5, 2009

With enough of the right technology any house can be close to zero net energy. Here is the story of "Marc Porat, an IT-turned-clean-tech entrepreneur, ... a showcase of
the latest technologies that can be used to ratchet down the amount of
energy that homes consume ... wanted to walk the talk with his own
home, a historic 1936 home ...".

"A net zero energy house produces as much energy as it consumes over
the course of a year. ... by putting in dense-pack cellulose wall
insulation ... changing the heating and
air conditioning system to an air-to-water heat pump, improving the
ventilation and lighting systems and adding windows that insulate
better, his team was able to reduce the amount of energy the home uses
by 62%. Adding solar panels to the roof creates electricity to
offset the energy consumed by the home. ... the
house is completely powered by electricity.

" .. the $100,000 he spent ... is five or six times what people should be spending. ... Commercial and residential buildings together consume
about 39% of the energy we use in the U.S., and the materials used in
such buildings account for another 12% of total energy consumption,
... built environment is
the key to whacking our energy consumption in half ...".

"... some 400 other home energy retrofitters in the U.S. focus on improving energy efficiency in residential dwellings .... "This is lower than the
low-hanging fruit," says Sustainable Spaces co-founder Matt Golden.
"The fruit is all over the floor. And the work is just beginning.""

Friday, December 4, 2009

Here is an interesting idea ... what if buildings came with carbon stickers .. much like cars that have mpg and emissions stickers. Such a mechanism would allow for consumers to shop for the more environmentally friendly building.

" ... every car has a sticker that tells you its fuel consumption ...sticker is also an effective policy mechanism for controlling the overall fuel consumption of all cars, and hence their carbon emissions ... "

"Why don't we do the same for buildings? Buildings account for around
40% of total carbon emissions in North America, while SUVs account for
just 3%. Imagine the impact if we could put an efficiency sticker on
buildings and halve their emissions over 10 years. Cutting building
emissions in half would save 1.14 billion tons of carbon in the U.S. in
one year alone."

"We know very little about the energy efficiency
of our buildings, and there is no overall benchmark for building
performance. ... we don't have a policy lever to reduce building carbon
emissions the way we can with cars."

Follow the link below to read the full story ... a very intersting and worthwhile copncept.

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Cagoule Fleece is made with 85% recycled plastic - specifically plastic beverage bottles. Using a product called "bottle fleece" they manufacture all sorts of fleece items like gloves, scarves and blankets.

My wife found these at our local Whole Foods Markets and thought they looked like a great idea ... quality warm fleece gloves from post consumer recycled bottles.

" ... everything we make is still created from superbly soft fleece itself
made from post-consumer recycled materials ... We recycle absolutely
everything we can and run the entire show with waste reduction firmly
in mind ... "

" ... BottleFleece™ ... made from 85% post-consumer recycled fibers obtained from plastic soda bottles and post industrial waste ... soda
bottles are collected by recyclers, then shredded, melted, and extruded
into fibers which then become ultra-plush fleece ... about 2
one-liter bottles in every BottleFleece hat ... "

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Looking to recycle plastic bags but do not know where to take them? Check out www.plasticbagrecycling.org for information.

The site has information for consumers, retailers, recyclers and businesses.

Consumers can find locations that will take plastic bags for recycling. Recycling keeps plastic from accumulating in landfills or becoming litter. Recycling is easier on the environment that creating new plastic from raw materials. Since many food stores have collection sites it is easy to take them for recycling without needing a special trip.

Consumers can also learn more about recycling success stoires and find links with more about recycling plastics.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle !

"Plastic bags are recycled into many different products. Most ... are recycled into composite lumber but can also be reprocessed
into small pellets, or post consumer resin, which can become feed stock
for a variety of products such as new bags, pallets, containers,
crates, and pipe."

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Their Big Green Help site has games, quizs and offers 5 themes for being green --- "Stop the Flow, Recycle and Precycle, Grow the Green, Curb the Car and Save the Big Blue". There are lots of fun ways to learn.

During commercial breaks the Nick.com stars encourage kids to get green and help save the planet !!

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About Me

I have always been a bit of a "green dude".
I remember as a young cub scout holding paper drives (do people still have paper drives) well before there was commercial recycling.
As an adult I recycle more than most folks ... including #1, #2, #3, #4, #5 and #6 plastics ... more on that later.